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dawn of ragnarok

Here’s The Thing… On AI and MidJourney Art

In recent months, I’ve seen a lot of controversy over this new thing called AI generated art. Did you know there’s now a title associated with it? An AI Artist is someone who uses one of these tools to generate art. I have seen cover artists call out someone for using AI-generated artwork for a book cover, and talk about how this would put a lot of people out of business. I am fully aware that what follows might get me into some trouble with the graphic artist community. But, as I’ve never been able to keep my opinionated mouth shut, I will keep going, anyway, because this is worth discussing. So, as I was reading about all this controversy, … Read More »Here’s The Thing… On AI and MidJourney Art

Now Available and Coming Soon

Greetings and salutations! It’s been a while since I have blogged here, or anywhere, for that matter. That’s very much on purpose. I made a conscious decision to slow down this year, stop pushing myself. Why? Because I seem to be experiencing a serious case of burnout. And it’s not so much from writing, or publishing, but all the rest of it. The constant pressure to promotepromotepromote, market a bit, then promote some more. That’s not why I became a writer. It’s a necessary part of the publishing process, but it poisons the joy I get from creating new stories and sharing them with the world, and the more I have to do it, the less I want to write.… Read More »Now Available and Coming Soon

Ragnarok is Coming. Soon…

Geez, Aly, way to bury the lead there… Nah, I made you all wait long enough. 😉 In case you missed it in the video, Prince of Deceit has an official release date: December 21, 2020. I hope you’re ready, because the end of this saga is going to get dark, bloody, and intense. And I didn’t realize it when I set the date, but it’s eerily fitting for this particular book. You see, December 21 is the day of the winter solstice, or Midwinter. It marks the longest night of the year, the end of the dark and the beginning of the return of the light. The dawn of a new age, so to speak. If you remember that… Read More »Ragnarok is Coming. Soon…

Writing Tip: The Right Story is Worth the Struggle

Two things I can tell you about writing fiction: It’s hard work It only gets harder When I say it’s hard work, I mean it takes far more than just jotting down what your imagination dictates. The greater part of writing is rewriting. There are stories that practically write themselves, and once you get to the end and read it again, the plot is pretty much good as is. But then there are stories you agonize over every step of the way. You rewrite them a million times and when you finally get to the end you realize you need to rewrite it a hundred times more. That’s just the nature of the beast. The thing about it is you… Read More »Writing Tip: The Right Story is Worth the Struggle

Teaser from Prince of Deceit

I had planned to wait until later to share this, but am apparently incapable of the slightest smidgen of patience. So here is a teaser from my next planned release, Prince of Deceit. 🙂 Enjoy! (Yes, that is my voice narrating.)

To update or… Wait. There is no Option B

How to tell when a writer is working: you don’t see her for months on end. Ever make a detailed, step-by-step action plan, only to have it get derailed at every single freaking step? That’s pretty much been my year so far. My plan was to write and finish Prince of Deceit and Dearest Love, and make some progress on Sweetest Kiss, all while doing the barest minimum on the business side. Well, Dearest Love is done and out, so yay for that. As for the rest… imagine me laughing anxiously while holding back frustrated growls. Instead of finishing my novel, I ended up writing a whole lot of other stuff (which I loved!), restructuring my entire business model (not so much with the love), and doing a bunch of stuff I hadn’t planned on, but which turned out to be necessary (long-suffering sigh).

Long story short, due to technical reasons with which I won’t bore you, I am having to change the Dragonblood series name. I did not come to this decision lightly. I’m not doing this just to get prettier covers (although they totally are!!). I’m doing it to correct a problem I’ve had with the series since before book 2 came out last year. The original series name had to be changed at the last second and because I was rushed for time, I ended up slapping on a new one that doesn’t really fit the series story line. This is something that has been pointed out by readers, reviewers, friends, and family, and has bothered me for almost two years.

So why now, rather than after Prince of Deceit? Because I recently started the process of moving/expanding my print distribution to IngramSpark, and a part of it involves reformatting the covers. So I can either make the change now, or duplicate my work later. For the sake of my own sanity, I’m opting to do it all now in one fell swoop.

Mind you, the stories themselves are not going to change. The book titles are not going to change. All that’s different is the series name and the covers. If you already have a previous print version of The Royal Wizard and/or Dragonblood, congrats. They are now limited first editions that could potentially be worth a lot of money in a few…decades. 😉 If you don’t, give the eBooks a gander. Check out the previews and see if they strike your fancy. Ya never know until you try! (*hint hint*)

Okay, that about covers the boring stuff. And now, without further ado, allow me to introduce you to the newly revamped Dawn of Ragnarok series, and reveal the cover for the third and final (planned) book: Prince of Deceit.

Read More »To update or… Wait. There is no Option B

Goodreads Giveaway!

I’m giving away an autographed copy of Dragonblood over on Goodreads! Deadline to enter is October 14, 2016. Return to a world of fantasy where gods are fickle, demons fly in the night, and Ragnarok is almost at hand. The Royal Wizard has enchanted readers all over the world. Now Dragonblood ramps up both action and danger as an Aegiran prince fights for his tribe’s survival. Enter Giveaway

Thank You Rebel Followers!

Dear friends, Hello again! I have returned from my exotic Hawaii vacation refreshed, rejuvenated, and raring to go right back again. Seriously, my Zen took a huge hit upon reentering the big city. Apparently, I am still a small town girl at heart. Oh well… one day. I wanted to write a quick note to thank my Rebel Court followers out loud for signing up for Catch Me. Your response has touched my heart, and I’m saving each and every one of them (which is  usually pretty creepy, but I’m a writer so I get a pass 😉 ). Your packages are all ready to go out in the mail tomorrow, so you should be getting them soon. 🙂 If… Read More »Thank You Rebel Followers!